In John 1:1-14, we are told that Jesus Christ was God in the beginning–and remains God today. He was God in Heaven long before events unfolded in the lives of two weary travelers who arrived at a sold-out inn in Bethlehem to celebrate the first Christmas. And He emptied Himself of His glory to become a man (see Philippians 2:7-8). This does not mean that Jesus stopped being God, but that for a period of time, became nothing special in the eyes of men. He was born as an un-welcomed out-of-town guest and his first bed had been a feed trough for hungry sheep just moments before.

While growing up and living as one of us, Jesus looked nothing at all like a god. But Jesus was not only God’s Son, but somehow He was also God at the same time (at this point, it would be good to delve into a study of the Trinity, but alas, that point is not our point).

This article is about prayer from Jesus’ perspective. Think about this: Jesus was perfect as a man, He was the Son of God and He was God, Himself. So what did Jesus spend a great deal of time doing? Praying. Jesus prayed . . . a lot! Often all night long. How long do you spend in prayer?  And if you study the Gospels, you’ll find that Jesus spent a lot of time communicating with us, but when He prayed, He talked with His Father.

We might be tempted to ask the question at this point, why did Jesus need to pray–being perfect and being God? At the root of at least part of the answer, we will find a new understanding of part of what prayer is. The apostle, John, gives us a great glimpse at the personal interaction between Jesus and the Father in John 17.

As Jesus prayed in the garden that night, He continued to waste no opportunity to continue to teach. As Jesus was praying, the disciples were listening (at least until they fell asleep). And so Jesus prayed to the Father while teaching the disciples at the same time–and through the gospel of John . . . . us. So what did He teach us? Some pretty important stuff! In verses 2 and 3, Jesus tells us that He has been given the authority to grant eternal life, and then He tells us what it is. He said, eternal life is knowing God and knowing Jesus. A lot of people that attend church, and some who don’t, know about Jesus. But Jesus teaches us that Eternal life is much, much more than know about Jesus Christ. Eternal life is a love relationship between Jesus and us! That love relationship is expressed in obedience, in worship and in prayer.

Jesus’ prayers were certainly petitions on His behalf as well as on our behalf. He prayed for Himself. He prayed for us. But His prayer sounds a little bit like a soldiers letter home to tell his parents that he’s almost through with his tour and will be home soon. He expresses His concerns. He states His desires for His disciples. And He expresses His love to the Father.

And therein lies at least one of the biggest reasons for prayer. Not the petitions, but the expression of our love. When we have a relationship that is worth while in our lives, whether it be with a spouse, a child, a parent or a friend, we know that we need to spend time with them in order to maintain the relationship. Jesus did not pray because He needed to. He prayed because He wanted to. His sole desire was to do the Father’s will and maintain a love relationship with Him.

We need to learn to pray out of a desire to spend time with Jesus, not just because we have a “shopping list.” It’s certainly okay to ask for things. Jesus tells us to do that, but too often, that’s all we do.

Prayer is our intimate expression of love to and from the Father. Let’s pray!